Shaman, Healer, Heretic (30 page)

Livvy remembered how she and Min had stood in this same place. She scanned the shoreline looking for her, but Min wasn’t there.
No, of course not
.
It wouldn’t be that easy
. She sighed as she turned back to the others, who were all looking at the lake.

“We held hands as we went in,” said Livvy. “I don’t know if we needed to.”

“Did you hold hands on the way out?” asked Ursula.

“Yeah,” said Livvy. “But it didn’t seem to do any good. I couldn’t hang on. Or she couldn’t hang on. I don’t know.”

They all looked back toward the lake. Its deep blackness was unsettling.

As they approached, almost like a chorus line, they instinctively held hands and waded in. Only waist deep, the water began to swirl. Livvy led the way and, as she stepped off the shelf and submerged, she pulled the others over the edge with her.

They landed in a ball of arms and legs in the Underworld as the fountain spewed them out. Eventually, they managed to untangle and stand up.

“Well that could have been more graceful,” said Sunny. Her pastel and white outfit, light skin and blond hair almost made her invisible.

“Hmph. Ursula thought the Middleworld was dull.”

The Underworld appeared not to have changed. Its vast whiteness seemed to stretch outward, the landscape undulating gently.

“This looks the same,” said Livvy. “The hills may not seem like much, but you don’t have to get too far away from the fountain before you can’t see it. It’s kind of a strange thing to say, but it’s easy to get lost here.”

“I’m sure it is, dear,” said Alvina, as she stepped away and went up the first rise.

She stopped on top and looked in each direction. Carmen followed her up the slope and looked around as well.

“Goodness, it’s the same in every direction,” Alvina said.

Suddenly there was a loud animal roar from the distance.

“What’s that?” said Carmen, backing toward the fountain.

“No need to worry,” said Wan-li, stepping forward. “It is Da Hu.”

“Of course,” said Ursula. “Your spirit helper.”

There was another roar, this time much closer, and all eyes turned in that direction. An orange and black Bengal tiger came bounding over a rise in the middle distance. It seemed to be loping but it was covering ground at a fantastic rate. It crested the last hillock, leapt through the air, and landed at Wan-li’s feet. She grabbed it affectionately around the neck and scratched with both hands.

From the backside of the fountain came the blaring crow of a rooster. As they watched, a silky black rooster with a large red comb and a long multi-colored tail came strutting into view.

“Kuh Kuh,” said Ursula, relieved, as she walked down the hill toward it.

The animal strutted over to where she was standing and scratched at the ground there, pecking at nothing.

Something small darted through the air just past Livvy’s head. Then it was gone, even as she turned to see it. Sunny held out her hand and extended an index finger for the tiny hummingbird that had started to hover in front of her. It landed on her finger and made tiny creaking sounds as its tongue flicked in and out, almost too fast to see.

Livvy looked down as something brushed by her foot, and then she jumped backward, nearly toppling over. A rattlesnake, easily six inches in diameter and twenty feet long, slithered by her. It undulated up the hill to where Carmen stood and then coiled itself next to her, shaking its rattle.

An eerie howl filled the air, a lonely and plaintive sound that seemed to echo and come from every direction at once.

“Koyot,” said Alvina, as she turned to search the horizon.

Moving quickly around the small hills instead of going over them, a coyote came trotting around the closest hill and circled around Alvina’s legs. It sniffed in the direction of the tiger, which was busy licking its paws. Alvina crouched down and patted the coyote between the ears.

“Your spirit helper,” said Wan-li, looking at Livvy.

All eyes turned to Livvy.

“It will come, yes?”

“It’s been here all along,” Livvy said, looking up.

The clouds were swirling and boiling directly over their location.

Alvina chuckled. “I thought so, dear,” she said as she gave Livvy a conspiratorial wink. “Only once in a generation, but I thought so.”

“Lightning,” said Sunny, gazing up. She turned an appraising look on Livvy, as her hummingbird looked up. All of the spirit helpers were staring skyward. “Now what?” asked Sunny.

All eyes turned back to Livvy.

“Usually Tiamat shows up and that’s the end of the journey.”

“What does this Tiamat look like?” asked Sunny.

Wan-li’s tiger grumbled.

“You really haven’t been here in a while,” said Ursula, as she brought her hands together in front of her, creating a glow between them.

As Livvy and the others stared, a small ball of flame erupted that Ursula tossed casually to the ground, where it smoked and went out. Livvy knew that all shamans had different spirit helpers and abilities in the Multiverse but it was still thrilling to see. She and Min hadn’t had time to get that far.

“Sorry,” said Carmen. “But what do we do about Tiamat, if she comes?”

“That’s the thing,” said Livvy. “We can’t really do anything. We’ve got to find Marduk. He’s the one who vanquished her in the time before time.”

“And, dear one,” began Alvina. “You know where to find Marduk?”

“No,” said Livvy, shaking her head. “The only thing we know is that he lives in a ziggurat.”

Without a word, each of the shamans and their spirit helpers, including Livvy, walked up the nearest mound and scanned in all directions. Although Livvy was looking for the ziggurat, she also had a small hope that the kachina or Min might appear.

“If there were a ziggurat, we would see it, yes?” said Wan-li.

As she finished the sentence, Wan-li looked to the next mound in the landscape and, with a speed that blurred her motion, she and the tiger were almost instantly on top of it. They moved at an unbelievable pace. As she watched the other shamans, Livvy wondered what powers they possessed.

Suddenly, there was a screech in the distance. Livvy crouched instinctively.

“Sorry!” said Carmen, heading down the hill toward the fountain.

Her snake took off in the opposite direction.

“What’s that?” asked Sunny.

Livvy headed down the slope to the fountain and watched Carmen step in and disappear.

“Tiamat,” yelled Livvy.

The animal helpers scattered as another shriek filled the air, this time much louder. The others didn’t need any convincing, and Sunny followed them without question as she launched her hummingbird into the sky.

As a group, except for Carmen, they entered the fountain.

• • • • •

Back in the real world, SK watched as they each took their goggles off.
That didn’t take long.
Had something happened? Carmen was the first to arrive and then the others followed shortly after. He had been sitting against the wall but got up.

Carmen took off her goggles and sat up, blinking several times before her eyes focused. She looked around the room and saw SK. He was about to ask if everyone was all right when the rest of them inhaled deeply and started moving, including Livvy. He watched her as she took off the goggles, without sitting up, and rubbed her eyes.

“Sorry,” Carmen said to Livvy. “You were right. That was difficult.”

“There is no ziggurat in the Underworld,” said Wan-li.

SK looked over at her. She was already standing up and smoothing her silk dress but she was sweating.

“Goodness,” said Alvina quietly, running a hand back through her short hair. “I would have to agree.” She inhaled deeply and slowly blew out. The glow of the flickering candles softened her ancient features and made it seem like her eyes were dancing.

“Ursula agrees also.” She stood and stretched her arms to the ceiling, making her look taller than she already was. She looked down at the box and all the wires in the center of their circle. “That thing really works.”

“Yes,” agreed Carmen, nodding, staring at it. “Maybe it does.”

Finally Livvy sat up, but she was slumping.

“Lightning,” said Wan-li to SK. “You might have said something, yes?”

“Not my place,” he said, getting up. “As you know.”

“Be thou as lightning,” said Sunny as she stood up.

Wan-li looked at her with upraised eyebrows, waiting.

“That was the Bard,” said Sunny, shrugging. “I was an English major.”

SK continued watching Livvy. As the rest of the shamans stood up, Livvy remained seated on her mat. He came over to her and held out a bottle of water.

“You need to rest.”

She took the water from him. “Yeah,” she managed to say before she took a sip.

The other shamans were finding their bottles of water or mugs of cold tea and drinking in the kitchen. They were quiet, still processing what they had done. As far as he knew, no shamans had ever done anything like this before.

“Maybe it is in the Middleworld?” said Carmen, almost inaudible.

“The ziggurat?” asked Alvina.

“Sorry,” said Carmen. “We haven’t looked there yet.”

“Well, it’s not in the Underworld, that is a certainty. Not when you can see from horizon to horizon,” said Ursula, as she looked at the open books spread out on the kitchen counter.

She put her finger down on one. It was an etching based on a cylinder seal, and it showed a spiral, multi-level tower that went up into the clouds.

“I don’t think this could have been missed,” Ursula said, tapping the book.

“Or it is in the Upperworld,” said Wan-li.

As a group, they seemed to stop breathing.

“Yes, it is not a pleasant idea,” she said. “But if it is not in the Underworld or the Middleworld, there is nowhere else for it to be.”

“We don’t know that it’s not in the Middleworld yet,” said Sunny.

“We don’t know if it’s a ziggurat,” said Carmen. “Sorry.”

“First, it can not be in the Underworld,” said Wan-li, nearly sneering. “Then it might not be a ziggurat. It is a bit early for excuses, yes?”

“Excuses?” said Ursula, her voice tense. “How is it you’re so sure, after one short visit, that you know where one of the most ancient of spirits is to be found?”

“I sense it,” said Wan-li, striking just the wrong imperious tone.

“That might work with your employees, but it doesn’t work with Ursula.”

“Now, friends,” said Alvina, calmly. “We need to be thorough but we don’t want to waste time. We at least need to check out the Middleworld.”

Carmen nodded in agreement, her hand at her mouth, apparently upset about the tension in the room.

Wan-li shook her head. “He will be in the Upperworld,” she said. “And to get to the Upperworld…” She looked down at Livvy, as did everyone else.

Livvy sat up straighter. “Lightning would be best,” she said.

The Upperworld wasn’t accessed by descending through the dark water of the lake–quite the opposite, in fact. It was in the sky. There was no spirit helper better suited to the Upperworld than lightning.

“Have you ever been there, dear?” asked Alvina.

“No!” said Livvy. “I mean, of course, I’ve never even tried.”

SK had rarely heard mention of the Upperworld. If shamans didn’t like to talk about their spirit helpers, they were loath to mention the Upperworld. As far as he’d ever heard, shamans weren’t particularly welcome there.

“Are we really at that stage yet?” asked Sunny. “Seriously? Before we’ve even checked out the Middleworld, after one little trip to the Underworld, you want to talk about the Upperworld? You cannot be serious.”

“She’s right,” said Ursula. “We need to make sure that the Upperworld is our last option.”

“Sorry, I think so too,” said Carmen.

Wan-li threw her hands in the air and shook her head as she looked at SK, but he knew better than to say anything. Instead he looked down at Livvy, who still hadn’t gotten up. He squatted down in front of her.

“Why don’t you lie down,” he said.

“No, I’m all right,” she said, although she didn’t try to stand. “Just tired.”

Carmen came over and touched the back of her hand to Livvy’s forehead. Her eyebrows furrowed. “Keep drinking,” she said.

No ‘sorry’, SK noticed. Livvy took a long drink.

“Is there ice here?” Carmen asked SK, but Sunny was already checking the freezer.

“There are trays in here,” she said, reaching in for one. She grabbed a dishtowel and emptied the tray into it.

“Lay down,” said Carmen.

SK took the water from Livvy as she obeyed. Sunny handed the dishtowel full of ice to Carmen, and she rested it lightly on Livvy’s forehead.

“When was the last time you ate?”

“I don’t know,” said Livvy slowly, her eyes closed. “I don’t remember.”